Two women taken hostage in Chicago

April 03, 2007

CHICAGO - An armed man took two women hostage inside their apartment building Thursday, sparking a police standoff that dragged into the night. Police do not know what precipitated the standoff, but said they have been negotiating by phone with the man, who they believe to be in his 20s or 30s, said police spokeswoman Monique Bond. - eighbors in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood and relatives of the hostages, who have not been identified, stood anxiously outside a police cordon of yellow tape. Some shouted at police, telling them they needed to do more to end the standoff, which began about 2:30 a.m. after a 911 call about gunshots in the building. - o injuries have been reported, Bond said. She described the female hostages as young adults, but did not know their ages or relationship to the gunman. Bond said the man's family was on the scene helping police negotiators. Police believe the man is armed with a semiautomatic weapon. "We're trying to ensure that there are no injuries," said Starks. The police department's hostage barricade terrorist team responded, and officers surrounded the three-flat building, police said. Gwendolyn Hodges, 48, who lives in the building where the hostages were being held, said earlier Thursday she spent the morning in her car, waiting to be allowed inside so she could start preparing for a Thanksgiving meal. "This is ridiculous," she said. "What kind of holiday is this for people?"